REVIEW: BPO final concert of the season

THE Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra ended their season by offering a pot-pourri of French and Russian music that clearly captured the imagination of the paying public as well as the Dome faithful.
By The Newsroom
Published 30th Mar 2009, 11:57 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 00:57 BST

With around 90 musicians required, it was just as well as the concert on Sunday, March 29, produced one of the best turnouts of the season and with such an eclectic mix it is doubtful anyone would have gone away disappointed.

If, like me, they are not enamoured of Poulenc, whose Organ Concerto offered 24 minutes of mild discomfort personally, at least there were plenty of compensations.

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The concert opened in lively style with a vigorous rendition of Borodin's Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor before the pace was eased markedly by Rachmaninov's delightful Vocalise.

The latter offered sweet contrast to Poulenc's brooding piece which at least gave Thomas Trotter a chance to show off the quality of the Dome's reconstructed organ.

The second half opened with de Falla's Three Dances from the Three-Cornered Hat, the third of which had heavy shades of the composer's famous Fire Dance.

The BPO's revered leader John Bradbury took centre stage as the pace slowed again with Massenet's much-loved Meditation from Thais and the season concluded in a suitably slowly evolving crescendo provided by Ravel's popular Bolero.

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The 85th season programme has now been decided and is available on line, and as respected musical director Barry Wordsworth commented, with the orchestra seemingly getting better and better, it promises to be another memorable season.

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